A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Paz satellite for Madrid-based operator Hisdesat, becoming Spain’s first radar observation satellite as part of the National Earth Observation Program. The satellite is completing a multi-purpose mission, collecting radar imagery for application in national security and defence, civilian applications, science and commercial exploitation. The 1,400-Kilogram satellite carries an X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar capable of delivering imagery at a ground resolution of one meter, capturing around 200 scenes per day. Paz was originally planned to fly on a Dnepr booster, but as the vehicle fell victim to the political conflict between the Ukraine and Russia the mission was moved to a SpaceX Falcon 9 after encountering nearly three years of delays.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in a rare expendable mission with a brand new first stage, will lift the Hispasat 30W-6 commercial communications satellite into Geostationary Transfer Orbit for Madrid-based satellite operator Hispasat. Weighing in at 6.1 metric tons, the satellite will require the entirety of Falcon’s performance and not permit the first stage booster to be recovered. Based on SS/L’s 1300 satellite platform, Hispasat 30W-6 hosts a powerful communications payload comprising 48 Ku-band, 6 Ka-band, 1 Ka-BSS and 1 C-band transponder for the provision of the full palette of telecommunications services to Europe, North Africa, and the Americas including television distribution, broadband Internet and corporate networking services.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch ten Iridium-NEXT mobile communications satellites into Low Earth Orbit in the continued effort to replace the entire heritage Iridium constellation with upgraded satellites supporting global communications, aeronautical monitoring and ship tracking. This is the fifth launch in support of Iridium-NEXT by SpaceX and the first of four Iridium missions planned in 2018 to finish deployment of the operational constellation of 75 satellites, all missions are using Falcon 9 launchers. Iridium-5 will re-use a previously flown Falcon 9, first launched on the Iridium-3 mission.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 14th operational Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on the company’s first mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services Program in 2018. Dragon SpX-14 is part of an extension to the original CRS-1 contract to bridge a gap to the second CRS contract round. The SpX-14 mission will carry International Docking Adapter 3 or the Robotic Refueling Mission 3 as external payloads (Decision still outstanding). The Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a Return to Launch Site recovery via a powered landing in Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch five Iridium-NEXT mobile communications satellites and a pair of gravity-sensing satellites into Low Earth Orbit on a shared ride between Iridium Communications and GRACE-FO operators GFZ and NASA. SpaceX has been contracted to deploy 75 Iridium-NEXT satellites with deployment occurring in batches of ten, meaning one Falcon 9 would fly with half a load, leaving surplus performance for a co-passenger. The two GRACE Follow-On Satellites are flying as an extension of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment that has been tracking Earth’s gravitational field since 2002 and is headed into retirement in late 2017. GRACE shows how mass is distributed around the planet and its variation over time, allowing for modeling of Earth’s oceans, geology and climate.

The Iridium satellites are headed to orbit in the continued effort to replace the entire heritage Iridium constellation with upgraded satellites supporting global communications, aeronautical monitoring and ship tracking.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) – the next-generation exoplanet hunter designed to detect planets from Earth’s size to the largest gas giants orbiting stars outside our Solar System. Built by Orbital ATK, the 350-Kilogram TESS hosts an array of telescopes designed for an all-sky survey focused the nearest 200 Light Years from Earth to identify exoplanet candidates via transit photometry for future observation by other telescopic assets like JWST. The relatively compact spacecraft will operate from a lunar resonance orbit of 17 by 59 Earth Radii.

Event Details

Event Details

Launch Date:

June 6, 2018

Launch Window:

TBA

Launch Vehicle:

Falcon 9 FT

Launch Operator:

SpaceX

Launch Site:

Cape Canaveral, Florida

Payload:

Dragon SpX-15

Payload Manufacturer:

SpaceX under NASA’s CRS Program

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 15th operational Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on the company’s second mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services Program in 2018. Dragon SpX-15 is part of an extension to the original CRS-1 contract to bridge a gap to the second CRS contract round. The SpX-15 mission will carry the ECOSTRESS Instrument (Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) and a spare Latching End Effector for Canadarm2 as external payloads. The Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a Return to Launch Site recovery via a powered landing in Cape Canaveral’s Landing Zone 1.